Jiji acquires Ghanaian competitor Tonaton.com

Jiji acquires Ghanaian competitor Tonaton.com

Africa’s most popular classified ads website, Jiji, has acquired Ghanaian-based classifieds heavyweight Tonaton for an undisclosed fee.

Tonaton, a subsidiary of Saltside, was the main Jiji competitor in Ghana at the time of its purchase on January 31, 2022.

Thanks to its innovations, the platform grew in popularity among users in Ghana, making it easier for users to buy and sell online, a strategy aligned with Jiji’s mission. Following the acquisition deal, both Jiji and Tonaton users will now have access to a larger network of buyers and sellers, which will significantly increase trading opportunity and aggregate user base in what is seen as a major market consolidation in the classifieds sector.

Jiji already holds leadership positions in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya following its acquisition of OLX in 2019 and Cars45 in 2021. Additionally, the marketplace operates in Uganda and Tanzania, and is well-positioned to tap into a larger share of the African market, with some 12 million users making up a monthly active base among all geographies.

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Speaking on the current trend drawn by Jiji, CEO and co-founder Anton Volianskyi clarified that, “with OLX and Cars45 under Jiji’s umbrella, we are getting close to becoming a regional leader in classifieds. Our goal is to build a company that gives every user in Africa the opportunity to buy goods cheaper and reduce environmental impact through what is effectively a developing lateral economy built on a safe and productive recirculation of valuable goods. We are currently creating at full-tilt hundreds of thousands of new jobs throughout Africa, which allows us to effectively address and help remedy gaps in both unemployment and frictional unemployment.”

Yuliy Shenfeld, Jiji’s Director of African Operations, added: “Jiji achieved great success with only a limited presence in Ghana; more than 2 million people visit our website each month. Over the past eight years, Tonatonhas built a strong team of more than 70 people that will hugely contribute to our future growth. The combination of Jiji’s technology and talent with that of Tonaton will help ensure our continued success in the fast-paced e-commerce industry.”